Time seemed to slow down as everyone watched the one last hope for the wizarding world fall through the Veil of Death. Sirius Black cried out in anguish as he watched his Godson fall into what he was sure his untimely demise. All because Harry had taken the curse Bellatrix had fired for him. The boy had jumped in the way, knocking Sirius to the ground. Tears began to build in his eyes as hate and rage for his cousin mounted to heights that would make even Remus think he was mentally unstable. But before he could act, a resounding boom filled the chamber with the accompanying shockwave knocking all present on their backs. Sirius rose shakily to his feet, his hand shaking as he tried to get the ringing in his ears to stop. When he looked to the source of the sudden blast, his eyes bulged and his jaw dropped. Standing on the dais was none other than the boy he thought was dead. But something looked different. Sirius could seea strong confidence in his eyes and an a powerful aura radiating from him. Sirius wondered what the hell had happened to his Godson.

"Well…it feels like I've been gone a long, long time, to a galaxy far, far away." Harry mused as he took everything in.

He frowned when he saw the state of the battle. The side of good was being whittled down while the evil minions were constantly reviving their knocked out comrades. Apparently, they took Dumbledore's ideals too far. While yes, the old man hated to kill if he could help it, he understood that sometimes, when all chances of redemption are passed up, the enemy must be removed. Hell, he'd heard first hand from Dumbledore that he did like to give second chances, but he wasn't in the business of giving thirds. Harry would have to speak to the Headmaster as soon as he could, though he sensed he was already in the building dealing with his own opponents, though Harry could sense amusement coming off the old man. Moving faster than anyone could track, Harry darted to the nearest target; Malfoy. In a split second of curiosity, Harry scanned his mind and confirmed what he already suspected. Malfoy, was dark to the heart and it seemed he was keeping his wife in line with the Imperius, making sure she couldn't act to derail his plans for power.

Seems she had tried to find out why her cousin had not been given a trial. Harry would speak with Sirius, but his full attention was refocused on Malfoy. Without a word, Harry activated his weapon, a blade of pure energy, and sliced through Malfoy's neck. The man's head bounced across the floor, catching everyone's attention. The Lightsiders looked in horror at Harry, wondering how he could have done such a horrible deed. While the Darksiders were simply in shock that Harry would do such a thing. Harry didn't wait for anyone to recover and launched his next attack, disemboweling his next three opponents in seconds. The rest of the hostiles seemed to realize that they would be dead if they stayed and tried to run, only to be cut down by Dumbledore himself. The old man sent a quizzical look to Harry, who simply shook his head. Dumbledore understood that Harry wanted to talk later and took in his own forces, seeing the shocked expressions on everyone but Remus' and Sirius' faces.

"You didn't think we could beat them with just stunners did you?" Albus asked.

"But…But…what about a trial? Surely they deserved a chance to defend themselves!" Tonks demanded hotly.

"My dear, all of these men had been tried before. And despite my repeated request they be Kissed, they each bought their freedom by paying off certain officials. And besides," He spoke, an amused twinkle in his eyes. "Their defense seemed rather…weak."

Harry, Sirius, and Remus snorted with laughter as Tonks looked to be nearing a blow up point. Harry decided to intervene.

"As much as we all would like to hear your logic, we have more pressing issues. Bellatrix was last seen headed toward the Atrium. Sir, I would suggest we take Sirius and Remus with us, as I sense Pettigrew is headed there as well."

Albus nodded and the four headed for the Atrium, leaving a shocked and angry Tonks in their wake. They made it to the Atrium entrance when Harry signaled them to stop. Reaching out with his senses, he shook his head.

"Dear Bella is just standing in the center of the Atrium, waiting for one of us to burst in. Peter seems to have found himself…stuck." Harry stated, amused.

The others didn't know he'd used his powers to freeze Peter in place and putt him to sleep.

"But the worst part is old Moldywart is sitting pretty in the rafters like an overgrown bat, waiting for either me or Dumbledore to charge in." He paused briefly. "He'd prefer we both do so he can try to kill us…and ultimately fail."

Sirius had been silent this whole time, finally regained his voice.

"How…how…" He started, but Albus cut him off.

"There is a time and a place Sirius, and this is neither. We need to deal with this situation first."

Sirius nodded, silently telling himself he would be questioning his Godson at the first chance he got. Harry caught those thoughts and shook his head. That man could be more stubborn than…Harry caught himself. Thinking on his past had no place in this battle. Harry's mind hatched a rather good idea.

"I'll go out first, draw out Old Tommy boy. Sirius and Remus can get the floo working from here. Once I've engaged Riddle, I think that would be the best time for you to come in, guns blazing sir."

Albus grinned.

"I think I see where you are going with this Harry. I assume Remus will gather up Peter for us?"

Harry nodded.

"Very well. I believe the muggle expression of 'charging the gates of hell' would fit this situation." Albus remarked as he prepared himself for the fight to come.

Harry moved quickly, not allowing either Remus or Sirius to stop him and he found himself in the Atrium, the infernal statue standing in the center. On the other side of it, stood Bella. Harry didn't even bother to hide himself as he merely walked over to the Statute and sat on the edge, noticing Bella's confused look. Harry smirked.

"What? Never seen a man return from the dead before?"

Bella bared her teeth in what he assumed she thought was a seductive grin.

"Big words from such a small boy. Perhaps you have large wand under all those clothes." She looked at him and to Harry's disgust, he could sense her considering him as her next plaything.

"Sorry, I doubt you could handle my wand." Harry took on a thoughtful expression. "Then again, with how many Death Munchers have had their way with you, it'd probably be like tossing a hot dog down a hall way. No contact on any side."

In the darkened doorway, Sirius was trying not to laugh as Remus clasped his hand over his mouth as his form shook with laughter. Even Dumbledore was restraining the amusement he felt as Bella became angrier.

"You dare mock me? Label me as a whore?! I am no such thing!" She shrieked, sending a curse toward Harry.

Harry recognized the torture curse and simply deflected it into the wall.

"Come come Bella." Harry mock scolded. "You should know better than to fire off curses you can't handle."

"My Lord will kill you Potter! He is more of a man than you ever could hope to be." Her grin was feral. "Too bad though. Your little mud blood whore will have to live with out you."

Harry raised an eyebrow, the only sign of his confusion. Bella seemed to take great pleasure in this.

"Oh yes, I saw her thoughts. She loves you Potter." Her grin darkened. "She hopes that one day you'll ask her out. Get married. Have a family with you. Too bad she'll never get the chance."

What Harry did next, shocked everyone watching, even Voldemort. In a split second, Harry had moved from his place by the fountain and was now in front of Bella, hand outstretched towards her. Even more shocking was the fact she had been lifted off the ground several feet and was grasping at her neck as if some invisible force was strangling her. For a split second, everyone saw Harry's normal green eyes turn a dark yellow. The darkness pouring off of him was enough to even scare Voldemort as Harry activated his blade again, the silver edge casting an eerie shadow over the surfaces,

"I was content to let Neville decide your fate. But you made one error Bella. You threatened the woman who will keep me from burning this world to the ground." He squeezed his hand slightly. "Now…now you die."

Everyone watched as Harry stabbed the silver blade through Bellatrix's heart. The life left her eyes and Harry let her body fall to the ground as he turned to where Voldemort was hiding.

"Get your pathetic ass down here Tom. We have business to discuss." Harry seethed.

Voldemort glided down to the floor, putting on the façade of being in control In truth, he was now scared. He had witnessed a power far beyond what he had ever heard of. And it was at the command of his greatest foe. He had o play his cards right, otherwise he would be without a body for another thirteen years.

"Potter. To be honest, I never thought you'd be capable of such dark acts." He sneered.

Harry simply looked at the so called Dark Lord with nothing more than annoyance.

"Save the games Tom. I can feel the fear in you." Harry took a step toward him. "You have a good hold on your emotions, but I can still feel it. The fear bubbling inside you is almost out of your control to keep hidden."

"You dare say Lord Voldemort is frightened of such a weak child?!" Voldemort demanded before sending a silent killing curse at Harry.

The green beam traveled quickly, though to all watching, it felt as if they were watching it in slow motion. Harry sprang his saber up, and to the surprise of everyone, deflected the curse as if it were nothing. Voldemort took an involuntary step back as Harry stepped closer, the mild annoyance still plain on his face.

"Do not mistake me for a child Tom. I have lived a lifetime in the few seconds I had been gone. I have seen and done things that are far beyond the scope of your evil."

Voldemort was now trying to keep the distance between him and Harry. For some reason nothing he was using against the boy weren't working.

"I've destroyed whole worlds. I've slaughtered beings in the billions. I've even killed a Dark Lord who thought himself immortal. I've seen plans a millennium in the making come to fruition. Plans much more complex and elegant than your's." He paused and looked over at Dumbledore, who gave Harry a look that said 'It's your show'. "You hate muggleborns because you were always second to them in every test you took. You couldn't stand someone with no magical heritage was better than you. You also wanted control of the world that you had figured deserted you when you were a child. You wanted back at the pure bloods because they looked down upon you and your heritage. And finally…you despise the muggles because of the ignorant actions of your father." Harry took great pleasure in watching Voldemort lose control of his emotions.

"Dumbledore dares to tell you these things?!"

"Dumbledore told me nothing. What I know I pulled from your thoughts. You may be a master of the offensive mind arts, but your defenses are nothing more than a wet paper page." Harry spoke as he readied himself for what he must do.

Voldemort snarled in rage and fired off half a dozen deadly curses in a split second. Harry, however, was expecting such a move and sprang to motion. He deflected two of the curses into the fountain, causing spectacular damage to it, and rolled away from three more curses before his blade became a flurry of motion. An anguished filled scream filled the atrium as Harry stood before Voldemort, blade pointed at his head. On the ground, his hands sizzled from the residual heat of the blade slicing them from their respective limbs. Harry lowered his blade and placed a hand on Voldemort's head. The man could only look at Harry in horror.

"For your crimes, Tom Riddle, I find you guilty. Your punishment will not be death, but something far worse." No one missed the menacing tone in his voice.

Unbeknownst to Harry, Hermione and Neville had managed to get to the Atrium and had watched the last few seconds of Harry's fight with Voldemort. Both were shocked and proud of Harry. Neville was even overjoyed to see Bellatrix's corpse lying on the ground, not far from Harry. Both watched as Harry continued to pass judgment on Voldemort.

"N-nothing is worse than death, Potter!" Voldemort seethed. "I have mastered Death!"

"No, you have only cheated it. Rest assured Tom, when Death finally takes you, your punishment will be such as it shall shatter your immortal soul. I only pray I am able to watch. As for your punishment, you say there is nothing worse than death? How would being in a permanent coma sound? Where your body lives but your mind is trapped within itself? Where you are unable to recover yourself from? Does that sound worse Tom?" Harry asked menacingly.

Riddle could only sputter as Harry called upon his powers and channeled the dark energy into his fingers. He severed neural pathways and shattered the spinal cord just enough to paralyze Riddle, before letting the vegetable Voldemort fall to the ground, his eyes glazed over. Harry took a calming breath and deactivated his blade as the floo network activated.

"Harry!" A familiar voice cried out.

Harry turned and saw Hermione rush to him, throwing her arms around him in a massive hug. Harry saw an opportunity that presented itself as an old friends words whispered in his mind. The discussion had been about the irritating take on love by both orders. "Love doesn't lead to the dark side. Passion can lead to rage and fear, and can be controlled... but passion is not the same thing as love. Controlling your passions while being in love... that's what they should teach you to beware. But love itself will save you... not condemn you." And Harry saw, in that moment, two possible futures. One of him sitting in a throne made of bone and flesh, mountains of corpses below him as the sky behind him burned with fire. The other, of him and Hermione, surrounded by his true friends, the sky crystal blue with ships of the other galaxy's design. A future where peace reigned and all of the people of the Earth, muggle and magical, lived in coexistence. Harry knew just then which future he wanted, and he knew the choice he had to make. Despite the sudden arrival of the Ministry workers, Harry pulled Hermione closer, and kissed her sweetly. The fact that the Dark Lord's body still laid behind them along with Bellatrix's didn't bother the two teens. What did cause them to finally part, was the flash of a light bulb and the sound of thunderous applause lead in no small part by Remus with Neville, Luna, and Dumbledore joining in while Sirius let loose a loud whistle that reminded Harry of an old movie he saw where Jessica Rabbit was singing at a club.

One of the Aruors finally got his head on straight once he saw Black and raised his wand. Bad choice for he suddenly found himself dangling by his ankles, ten feet off the ground.

"Touch my Godfather, and you die." Harry hissed.

It was at this point, Amelia Bones stepped forward, dragging an unconscious Peter behind her. She marched straight to the Minister and dropped Peter to the ground.

"I believe we should rescind the capture order for Black immediately Minster. I have a full confession from this…thing. It proves Sirius Black was innocent and in fact never stood trial."

Now, Fudge maybe many things, but he was not a man who was above seeing that justice was served properly. He had been told by Harry and his friends in their third year about Sirius being framed, but he had simply dismissed it as being confounded by Black. Now, however, with evidence in hand, he would take steps to correct the situation, his reputation be damned.

"I agree. As of now, Sirius Black is officially pardoned and a full investigation in this grievous miscarriage of justice shall be launched at once. Peter Pettigrew will be placed in a maximum security holding cell with Prison rations only for the next three days. At the conclusion of the investigation, he shall be tried and sentenced." Fudge turned to Sirius, apology written all on his face. "I regret I was too narrow minded to heed the words of your Godson, Mr. Black. However, I will be happy to give whatever assistance you may require until your are back on your feet."

Sirius was shocked. He simply thought of Fudge as a bumbling politician who only cared about votes. Which was true, but even he had morals and he would not allow a man to be wrongfully imprisoned.

"I…appreciate it Minister. Right now, all I want is to be the rightful guardian of my Godson, as was intended in James and Lily's wills."

Fudge nodded and turned to the Madam Bones.

"I trust you have this in hand?"

She nodded and Fudge headed off to speak with the reporters to explain what had happened, even though he really didn't have all of the information. Harry, meanwhile was currently looking into a pair of chocolate brown eyes of Hermione Granger. She was confused, but none the less pleased.

"Why did you kiss me Harry?" She asked, a small smile gracing her face.

"I've wanted to since third year. I just never had the confidence to…until today."

Hermione beamed and kissed him again, albeit, shyly as several more cameras went off with a polite applause. Harry looked at them in annoyance before turning back to Hermione.

"I suspect we should continue this elsewhere. However, I have to speak with the Headmaster before we can properly talk. Unless you'd like to tag along and hear my tale as well?" He asked, smiling lightly.

Hermione nodded as Harry led her over to Dumbledore. The Headmaster looked pleased at their recent development.

"I assume you are ready to depart young Harry? And if I may be as bold to guess, you'd like Miss Granger present as well?"

Harry nodded briefly.

"Preferably sir. It'll make it easier so I don't have to repeat my story, or at least repeat the overview so often."

Albus nodded in understanding before glancing at Fudge.

"If we hurry, we can avoid the vultures after they get done questioning the Minister." Dumbledore stated, conjuring a golden hoop from thin air. "Alright, everyone grab hold. This Portkey will take you all to my office. I regret I won't be there to hear the tale at the start as we have students to get back to the school.."

Harry, Hermione, Remus, and Sirius all grabbed the hoop and felt themselves yanked away at startling speeds. It felt that as if the trip had just started when they found themselves in Dumbledore's office. Harry looked over to Sirius and Remus, seeing them both looking at him expectantly. He sighed and dropped into the nearest armchair. Hermione herself pulled the other close enough to sit beside him and placed her hand on his, still not sure if this was a dream or not.

"Alright. I guess you should all get comfortable. This isn't a tale I want to tell twice so please don't interrupt unless I say it's okay for questions. We all agreed?" He asked.

Seeing the nods of agreement, Harry began his tale…

-x0x0x0x0x0x-

It took six hours for Harry to recount his tale to the group in front of him. It had grew in size once Dumbledore arrived with both Fudge and Madame Bones. To say they were shocked was an understatement. The whole group was silent for a full ten minutes before Remus regained his voice.

"So let me see if I understand you. The veil we all thought was a portal to the afterlife is nothing more than a magical and temporal portal, capable of sending the one sent through to any place or time? And this portal is not only sentient, but also helped shape the creation of another galaxy?"

Harry nodded.

"Yes. When I fell through, the portal chose the place that would give me the advantage to win against Voldemort."

"I daresay it knew what it was doing." Dumbledore spoke up from behind his desk, his hands clasped in front of him.

"But…you said you were corrupted by the…Dark Side?" Seeing Harry's nod, Sirius continued. "And ended up going leading a dark army to war against the Republic?"

"To be fair Sirius, the Republic had stagnated. They believed themselves infallible until the Mandolorians came knocking. The threat I had discovered was one of many they would be ill equipped for once it reared its head. I did what I had to do to help strengthen it." He reached for his water and took a sip before continuing. "Malak was the one who pushed too far."

"You cut his jaw off." Fudge pointed out.

Harry shrugged.

"He said something I didn't like. He wanted to enslave the galaxy and use it as his own personal play thing." Harry clarified.

"And you ended up getting knocked out, your memories wiped, and then sent back out to try to stop your old friend." Madame Bones shook her head. "Just how long were you there?"

Harry frowned as he thought about it and added up the years he spent in the other galaxy.

"Let's see…I spent around six years training before being Knighted…another five for the war…one year running around the unknown region…two years of war against the Republic…and a year running around in an attempt to stop the same war I started…so fifteen years."

All jaws dropped at this save Dumbledore who immediately turned to one of his age detectors behind him and began muttering a long incantation before the device puffed out a cloud of purple smoke that formed into the number thirty.

"Well I'll be…" He muttered before returning to the curious crowd. "The device behind me can, at request, display the true age of anyone I ask it to, unless something blocks the senses of it. It appears the true age of Mr. Potter is approximately thirty years of age." He saw Hermione's shocked expression and smiled. "Fear not Miss Granger, for it only registers the true age of the soul, not the body. In fact, you yourself have a high age do in no small part to your rather advanced maturity."

Sirius shuddered.

"I'm afraid what mine says. Probably something in the hundreds."

Dumbldore's eyes twinkled.

"Rest assured Mr. Black, yours is most defiantly not that high. Though I'm sure you'd rather not know how low it actually is."

Several of them chuckled as Sirius tried to figure out if he was just complemented or called immature. Sirius decided to just let it be and chuckled weakly as Harry looked to Dumbledore.

"Sir, I suggest we call it a night. Everyone here is drained and Force knows I have earned a good nights rest."

Albus nodded and dismissed Harry and Hermione while he and the rest of the crowd began discussing what to do now.